Tag: Superman

Here is something I was initially intrigued with: a battle between the modern-day incarnation of Superman and a reasonable facsimile of the 1940s-Superman. Make no mistake… DC pulled this same stunt with Wonder Woman a while back: the modern-day incarnation meets up with the 1940s-version on the cover, only to have WW meet up with her mother in the past in the actual book. But people are thinking that they won’t actually pull the same thing twice, right?

The old adage of “Never judge a book by its cover” has never been so true.

Don’t kid yourself here though. There actually is a super-human being running around looking like 1940s-Superman. Heck, he’s even drawn in the same style and nicely done too in contrast to the current art included in the issue, which is also pretty good. Unfortunately, this is the only Superman-type character you’re going to see in this issue; the modern Kal-El is trying to convince an old man to delete his fictional work about a superhero. There’s nothing special behind this issue; it’s your typical “metahuman good-guy who uses brute force and eventually goes berserk” story. Only difference this time is that they’re using a character whose style comes from the early days. Nonetheless, it’s not a spectacular

This is worth buying if you’re a Superman completist, a regular fan of the franchise, or just get a kick out of seeing a guy drawn in the style of the forties beat on a bunch of cops drawn in the current style. Just don’t jump into this issue expecting what the cover shows and declares, because it is misleading (there is no battle between Man of Yesterday vs. Man of Tomorrow).

What’s next? Is Batman going to have an issue in which the cover shows the current-age Batman facing off against the 1940s Batman, only to be squaring off against 60s-style Batman?

Before we jump into this review, I want to share a little anecdote. A while ago, I have gotten my hands on the MAD ON SUPER-HEROES trade paperback. One of the strips in the trade featured this interesting little frame with Superman consulting with a therapist (supposedly at eighty bucks a session). It’s funny, it’s interesting, and it’s likely never to happen in actual continuity.

Apparently, someone must have read the same piece and thought differently, because just a few weeks ago, DC debuted Superman’s therapist. Contrary to what some people may think at first glance, that first story was far from hilarious, but you couldn’t help but see the irony of the whole thing. In addition, it offered a glimpse into the mind of the Man of Steel and as a result, it ended up being a good read too.

Action 797 brings Superman back into therapy, this time spilling his guts on the recent Manchester Black fiasco and the death of the pocket-universe General Zod and his two pocket-universe buddies by his hands (the Zod thing is happened in the early issues of the current Superman series, so you may have to check the back issue bins for a more detailed account). All of these recounts seem to be a method to finding out who Superman is. Of course, there are some light-hearted moments too.

It’s not an action-packed issue. It’s Superman in therapy. There isn’t that many mindless battles that has been the dominant theme in the “Ending Battle” story, nor do I expect. Joe Kelly does a wonderful job in trying to surmise who Superman is and how he is viewed. Only thing is that some of this stuff is relying on continuity, which is a nice thing, but it’s something that may get lost on new readers. The artwork is alright, but nothing particularly noteworthy.

I wish there were more emphasis on the “man” and not on the “super” in these Superman books and Action 797 manages to work nicely. It’s better that Superman 188 where Superman goes flying around, beating the crap out of bad guys, and crack lame jokes that Spider-Man would cringe at. It’s a nice change of pace that doesn’t feature 100 different fights. It’s Superman in therapy and it’s a pretty good read.

 

There have been many Superman/Bizarro encounters over the past decades. Some are humorous, some are not great, but one thing is prevalent; every story shows the Bizarro character degrade right down to a pretty stupid character, despite his opposite way. In Superman #181, both Supes and Bizarro have their brains switched. Superman is stuck in Bizarro’s body, while Bizarro is stuck in Supes’ body. After cases of mistaken identities, the two fight and then things go back to normal… that is, until the next time these two meet.

The idea of switching brains usually results in some interesting stories and this story is no exception. The book is intended to be funny and to some extent, it is. Other than a couple of minor plot-points, the issue is void of one. That’s okay, because this is a Bizarro story. A Bizarro story isn’t suppose to feature a relentless killer or a “confused” clone. It’s about a character who is not only the complete opposite of Superman, but is also a complete idiot. The visual work of McGuinness and Smith is the standard fare, but the facial expressions of a Bizarro-minded Superman is classic. This is as close to seeing absent-minded Clark as you’re going to get.

There are no faults in Superman #181 that I can think of. But although it had nothing to do with the issue’s plot, I would have liked to see a scene or two with Lex Luthor. Now that the guy knows his arch-enemy’s greatest secret a few issues ago, what happens next? It’s something that needs to be focused on soon and not as a mere afterthought later on.

If you enjoy a good, light-hearted comic, Superman 181 is a nice choice.

In this issue, Superman faces Dracula… yes, Batman fought Dracula some years ago in an Elseworlds book, so it seems appropriate that the Powers That Be should give the Man of Steel a shot at ol’ Drac… this isn’t a joke, not an imaginary story, not an Elseworlds story. This is supposed to be part of the regular continuity… Actually, despite having said that, Superman #180 isn’t a bad book, but there are a couple of things that keep it from being an excellent work.

Superman vs. Dracula is an interesting idea. Although there are a couple of mishaps, the story comes off rather well. It’s one of the moody Superman stories you rarely catch that has nothing to do with a major crossover or some supporting character’s demise. The writer has even given the vampire hypnotic powers, so he’s portrayed as a seductive being and not as a glorified monster from a B-movie. The nice choice of collects accommodate the superb artwork; sort of like Detective Comics was for a short period of time before it was presented once again in living color. It really set the mood of the issue.

Although I like the concept, the pure thought of Superman duking it out with Dracula is cheesy. The Batman/Dracula crossover (I think it was Red Rain – I’m not entirely sure) worked so well because both characters are somewhat tragic figures, but the ending to this one (not going there) is a little disappointing. What I also didn’t like was the fact that after Lois revealed her pain to Clark (and vice-versa later on), the whole thing is forgotten a page later. It is typical of mind-control, but I would liked to have seen the subject explored further. Perhaps the issue will resurface some other time, but it should have been dealt with the minute it was brought up, rather than just hinting at it. Also, the story could have been better off without the distracting antics of Jimmy Olsen.

Superman #180 is good for a quick diversion or for those who enjoy reading Superman stuff. Mind you, it has its flaws, but they don’t detract from the quality of the book. And it’s one of those rare Superman stories that are somewhat moody and different from the usual batch of stuff. Go ahead and get it…

When I heard that a new Captain America series was in the works, I thought big deal. When it was discovered that the new series would be under the Marvel Knights line (which is the mature line), I was skeptical. A superhero comic under a mature line? The line is home to darker characters like The Punisher and Daredevil, now comes Captain America?! Is DC going to follow suit by putting Superman in their Vertigo section?!…

But on the other hand, the MK Fantastic Four mini-series was a quality mini done by the guys that did the Sentry, so I decided to check Captain America #1 out.

The story, which initially deals with the 9-11 tradegy and how Captain America reacts to it, is probably the best way to introduce the character into the MK line. The super-soldier is not depicted as the confident, never-say-die superhero all cheery and smiling, but rather as a man whose confidence in himself and his skills is waning. It is a realistic portrayal of the aftermath of a devastating tragedy. The art style featured in the book is well done and is probably fitting for a book of this splendor.

The sad thing about this book is that it centers itself around a tragedy that occurred in the real world. Let’s face it; if 9-11 hadn’t happened, this series would either not have come into fruition or would not been anytime soon. I’m not saying that the book is bad because of it… it just seems wrong…

The new Captain America series is an excellent new title worthy of bearing the Marvel Knights banner. It’s the kind of story that I would like to see more often; the kind of story where the superhero is presented as a regular guy with a heavy burden. An excellent start.